KARACHI: Gusal Mendis’ magnificent century helped Peshawar Zalmi beat home team Karachi Kings by 159 runs in the 17th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the National Bank Stadium on Thursday.
Chasing a tough 247-run target, the 2020 champions were bowled out for 87 runs in 16.1 overs.
Wicketkeeper batsman Azam Khan remained the top scorer for Kings with a cautious 25 off 27 balls with 3 fours and a six, while fellow middle-order batsmen Saad Baig (14) and Khushdil Shah (10) scored double figures.
Nahid Rana, Sufyan Mukeem and Iftikhar Ahmed jointly led Zalmi’s bowling charge with three wickets each, while Shoribul Islam claimed one wicket.
Kings captain David Warner’s decision came first as the 2017 champions amassed a mammoth 246/3 in 20 overs, courtesy of a mammoth 191-run partnership for the second wicket between Mendis and Babur.
However, Zalmi had a mixed start to their innings as they lost opener Mohammed Harris (nil) to the second delivery of the first over by Khushdil Shah.
Following the initial setback, Mendis joined Babar in the middle and the duo turned the game around with a dominant partnership that saw them score 191 runs off just 97 balls.
Abbas Afridi finally broke the marathon partnership in the 17th over as he dismissed Mendis for a top score of 109 off 52 balls with 14 fours and 4 sixes.
Afridi dismissed Michael Bracewell off the last ball to deal another blow to Zalmi’s batting journey.
Babur, on the other hand, returned with his bat in full after scoring an unbeaten 87 off 51 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes.
He shared a 49-run partnership for the fourth wicket as he accelerated to a 12-ball 40 to boost Zalmi’s total at the back.
Among the Kings’ bowlers, Afridi took 2 for 55 in his four overs, with Khushtil picking up a wicket.